Humphrey's Tragedy
by Deisy
Summary: What would happen if Humphrey decided to stay for Kate's wedding. What if he was too week to tell her how he felt about it?
1. Chapter 1

**So hi there….do people still do this? Um…yea. A long time ago, I wrote a story. I did not write it that **_**well**_**, however. So. Here's a new story.**

A few birds streamlined by, singing about how great of a day it was. Wolves were frantically scampering around. A gray wolf was laying down, staring out of his cave, and watching the commotion outside. A sullen look appeared to radiate from him. He sighed and pressed his paws over his eyes. He did not want to think about what was going to happen. It was stressing him out. After pondering on what to do, he stood up and walked out of his cave. He had already made up his mind.

"Nothing could change it either," he thought aloud. "There's no wa—"

"Nothing could change what?" Kate asked. Humphrey winced at the sound of her voice.

"Oh n-nothing Kate. Don't worry about it," he croaked, not entirely able to speak to her.

"Well it didn't sound like nothing. Come on, you can tell me," Kate spoke, smiling playfully.

"Kate, I'm uhh….I'm leaving Jasper. Like, now. Right now," Humphrey began to take off running He didn't want her to see him cry.

"Wait! You can't just leave! Humphrey, could you at least stay for the wedding?" She trotted forward, trying to catch up to him. "Humphrey! Where are you going?!"

"Kate, I just can't do this anymore. I do not want to talk about it either," he sped up, dirt kicking up behind him

"Please, Humphrey. Just one more day," Humphrey stopped and looked at Kate. He could tell she was about to cry. He wasn't sure why, although. She was marrying Garth tomorrow anyway, why should she care about him? He had to look away from her though. Seeing her like that, it still tore away at him even more than the marriage did. He sat down, letting out a loud sigh.

"Oh…alright. I suppose it won't hurt." _Well, it will hurt me._ He thought to himself. _It will hurt me a lot._

"Thanks Humphrey!" Kate beamed. She hugged him, a lot shorter than it used to be, and left.

"Yea, sure," he turned around, pissed at himself for agreeing with her. "What do you care?" He screamed at himself. He did not care that nobody would hear. "Why are you still here? It's time to go!" He ran into his den, crying into his paws. He slowly nodded off.

Kate walked into his den, looking down on him. Humphrey opened his eyes, looking at her.

"Oh. Hi Kate," he looked at her, confused.

"Shut up, rat!" she spat out at him. She ran toward him, snarling. Humphrey looked into her eyes. He saw those beautiful eyes, and couldn't do anything about the fact that her teeth were latched to his throat. He tried to scream, but he couldn't even do that.

Humphrey shot up. He noticed it was much later. He went outside and saw the moon, thinking about how just a day ago he was convinced Kate would be together with him for the rest of their lives. He kicked a stone at the thought how stupid he was for thinking that. "I should have known," he grumbled. A goofy smile crossed his face. He began to stumble over to the cliff. He looked down. It had to be a two-hundred foot drop. He backed up a step, and began running forward. A gray blur tackled him

"Hey! What the?" Humphrey let out, looking at his assailant. Salty, panting over top of him, looked like a scolding father. "Oh. Hey Salty. Whatcha up to?"

"Oh you know, just walk around and stopping you from diving off a cliff!" he slapped Humphrey across the face. "Look. I know you are upset about Kate. And I get that. But this is not the way to do it," he scolded, standing up and walking away. He turned his head back at him. "Oh, and by the way, you would have regretted it before you hit the ground."

Humphrey sulked back to his den. The moon was shining bright, although it was waning away. He heard distant howls, no doubt coming from a place he did not want to consider. Humphrey sighed and walked inside. He stretched out and closed his eyes. It was no use though; he was not getting any more sleep tonight.

Humphrey opened his eyes. He saw the moon setting and the sun rising in the sky. It was an estranged time, when one could see both the moon and sun. He heard chirping birds flying through the sky. Humphrey groaned. He stretched out and walked toward the light. A definite energy was flowing through Jasper Park. It was sucking away the last bit of resolve Humphrey owned. The wedding would begin soon, he realized. Humphrey started toward the ceremony grounds. He stopped for a second, realizing where he was. He absolutely loved a small cove nearby. He planned to show it to Kate.

"Things are different now," he thought aloud. Flashbacks of the two friends, when they were little, floated through his head as he stared at the sky. Shaking his head, he left to find his spot at the wedding.

Humphrey was one of the last ones to arrive. He sat in the far back, as far away as he possibly could. Salty sat next to him, and let out an apathetic smile. "You'll be alright," he whispered to Humphrey. Humphrey nodded in agreement. He knew it would get better. After he left, it would at least. That much would not change after the wedding. The fact was not going to be considered. Kate did not care enough for Humphrey, at least not as much as Humphrey did.

Kate walked out from the brush, and walked through an aisle of wolves toward Garth, who was waiting at the stone alter.

**Thanks for reading. Leave a review, if you like. More to come soon enough.**


	2. Chapter 2: This is it

**I figured I might as well just keep going for a while. Gets the story rolling, ya know? **

**Chapter 2**

Kate strutted forward, feeling confident that what she was doing was entirely necessary. One problem kept nagging her in the back of the head; she was not ready to be married. She at least was not willing to marry some stranger with a name that reminded her of barf, as Humphrey deemed his nickname to be. Yet, here she was, marrying this stranger in front of a crowd of even more strangers. She saw Humphrey, who was sulking at the back of the group. She gave him a weak smile. That was the other problem.

"_Why has Humphrey been so depressed all of the sudden?" _Kate thought. "_He was beaming, glowing with happiness when they made it back. Then the wedding came—oh no." _Kate faulted on her next step, realizing what was happening. She turned to look back at Humphrey, but saw he was gone.

Humphrey was watching Kate walk up the aisle. After she passed him, he decided it was too much. He turned over to Salty.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I just—I can't do this anymore. I gotta go," he whispered. "_I'll take my chances on my own in the wild before I live a life as miserable as this," _he thought to himself. Deciding enough was enough; he gave a final goodbye to his longest companions, stood up, and left. Nobody questioned him. He ran back the way he came, tears streaming down his face as he left. He saw his favorite cove, and ran through the brush to the clear ground. The cove was a small circle, with a stone wall on one side and tall, green, bushes and trees making a circle around a patch of prairie grass. Sighing, he laid down and stared up at the trees blocking the sky. It really was a beautiful cove. He decided that maybe he would hide in it for a while longer. He dozed off before he knew it.

Kate decided she would go find him later. She went through the ceremony. After they kissed, everybody cheered. Almost everybody, anyway. After the wedding, a dance at Howling Rock was orchestrated. Kate had a great time. Garth became a thousand-fold better at singing and dancing. She figured somebody must have taught him how to. Something was bothering her though.

"_Where is Humphrey? You'd think he'd be having the time of his life right now." _

She wasn't sure why, but she missed him. She was reminded like a blow to the gut every time though. Humphrey had fallen for her, and she turned around and married somebody the next day. The reason for him leaving made much more sense, at least. As much as Kate tried, the nagging in the back of her head finally convinced her to go find him. After excusing herself from the dance, she went back to the ceremony grounds.

"This is gonna be tough," she though aloud. Finding his scent mixed with all these other ones would be a challenge, even for an Alpha like herself. Luckily, the weeks spent together in Idaho made him almost seem familiar, like they were together.

"Except we're not," she told herself. "I'm married now, remember," she laughed. She finally found Humphrey's scent, and began following his trail. She wandered through the nearby woods, until it stopped at the bramble.

"That's weird," she stepped into the wild, following the trail he made walking through it. What she found on the other side was not what she expected. It was much, much worse.

Humphrey laid on the ground, face in the dirt, unsure of what to do. Staying was hardly an option, but he didn't want to leave either.

"Maybe I should just lay here, forever, and see if anyone finds me," he chuckled at the idea. He finally looked up when he heard someone crashing through the bramble around him. He saw Kate come out, and put his head back to the dirt. A small groan escaped from him. _"How ironic,"_ he thought.

"Humphrey," Kate sat down next to him, "why are you here? You should be out there, having fun, dancing with some girl that deserves you," it took a lot to let that part out. She knew Humphrey deserved better than her, at least after what had just occurred over the last few days. Humphrey blew some air out of his nose and looked back toward the sky. Kate looked around and smiled.

"This place is beautiful Humphrey. When did you find it?" She asked.

"It was a while ago, back while you were at Alpha school. I was going to show you someday. This wasn't exactly how I planned on showing you though," he let his head down between his paws.

"I'm sorry Humphrey," Kate felt like she was going to cry. Humphrey had always been there for her, through thick and thin. Moreover, this entire damn thing with Tony was going to crumble it all. Tony was selfish. Humphrey interrupted her thought process.

"Kate, I think I'm gonna go now," he stood up. "Say goodbye to everyone for me."

"Humphrey, wait! Don't do this. It doesn't have to be like this," She tried following him. He turned around and gave Kate a glare she had never seen from him before.

"Kate, this is it, right here. I'm leaving and you can't stop me. So let me go," he turned around and dashed into the trees.

"But I'll miss you," she softly said, laying down. She felt like she was going to cry. "_Funny how this is the first thing I've cried over in the longest time."_

**Seems like a nice place to stop. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Moose

**Hi again. I Had a busy week, so here's a new chapter to finish it off.**

**Chapter 3**

Humphrey decided that it was most likely ok to walk again. He stopped for a second recover. The moon was glowing bright in the sky. He looked at his surroundings. Humphrey realized he had no idea where he was. He was okay with this; however, there was nowhere for him to be. He let this sink in for a second. He really needed to be everywhere, he realized. His stomach growled at him.

"I don't know anything about hunting," he hit his head against a rock a few times, realizing just how bad things were. "This was stupid, I should turn back—but I can't just go back now, not after all that. I could try to start a new life, live in a new pack—no that won't work either. Nobody wants another omega to feed. I guess I can at least try to hunt at least. Now, where to start?" Humphrey decided his best bet was to find something while it was eating. After Humphrey rested, more or less, and he stalked through the tall grass and brush, hoping he would come across something eventually. He winced as his paw snapped on a twig laying on the ground.

"I am not very good at this," he muttered, stepping on another twig, causing another loud crack. A sharp breathe escaped from him, and he jumped down to lay flat on his belly. He thought he saw—no he definitely just saw four legs on the other side of that evergreen. He poked his head up, confirmed the legs, and slunk under the tall grass. _What has legs like that, anyway?_ He thought. It was not a wolf, or a caribou for that matter. _Aww what's it gonna hurt anyway? It can't be that big. I'm a wolf. Wolves kill. I can do this._

Kate felt panic surging in as she watched Humphrey take off. She thought about going after him, but decided against it. Even if she did stop him this time, what is stopping him from leaving later on? She knew Humphrey stood a snowball's chance in hell out there, and that thought made the panic so much worse. He could be killed, or worse. She thought she heard something rustling nearby. Her hope faded away when she saw the birds fly out of the brush. She stood up slowly and walked back to her den, ready for the day to be over.

Garth greeted Kate as she walked in the mouth of their den. He seemed a little worried; she did come back rather late. His expression changed a bit when she started crying in the corner of the room.

"This is going to be a long night," he grumbled, walking over to comfort her. "Hey, something wrong?" he asked, putting an arm around her.

"It's just, Humphrey; He took off a bit ago,"

"Oh?" Garth wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"He left Jasper," Kate's lip started to quiver

"For how long," Garth asked.

"That's the problem. I don't think he's coming back." She started wailing into the ground again. Garth wasn't sure what to do, he hardly knew her. How was he supposed to know what to say?

"Kate, please don't cry. I know he was your best friend, but if leaving is what he wants to do, then you need to let him. He'll probably come back soon; he is just an omega. He'll be too hungry to go on for long, and he'll come back with open arms from us. It's going to be all right."

"Garth, what if he dies out there?"

"We'll just have to see," he smiled at her. She sniffled, and closed her eyes. Kate fell asleep in a few seconds, feeling a little better.

Humphrey examined his surroundings. He wasn't much for hunting, he realized. The truth was, there was a four-legged creature on the other side of this tree, and it would probably run away before he got close enough to catch it. He saw a few trees behind it, but no way to cover the open ground without it noticing. His hope picked up as it took a few steps closer to the tree in front of him. Humphrey decided if he could get a hold of its front leg, he might just have a chance. Humphrey took a deep breath and shimmied his way under the tree, taking great care not to make any noise. It stuck it's foot just outside of his reach.

"_This is unreal_," he thought. He opened his mouth and bit down on the leg. An audible snap came from the leg. Humphrey could taste blood. He was starting to feel triumphant. A strange bawl came from the animal; it was deep and hollow. The animal took a few steps back, dragging Humphrey with it, until it fell over. Humphrey gleamed, not letting go of the leg. He got one good look at the animal.

_"A little bigger than I imagined. Its horns are, webbed too. Like a duck foot, only it's not webbing. The horns are just really weird. Wait—oh no." _Humphrey's triumph soon turned to fear as the animal noticed what was attacking it. The animal got up and started running, taking Humphrey with it. It bawled out again, following the bawl was a series of flailing legs. One of the hooves caught Humphrey on the head. Humphrey grunted and stood up, only to be kicked in the head again. This one sent Humphrey flying into a tree. He tried to stand up, but everything started to fade. He thought he felt something wet on his face. He took a step forward. The animal stood up and ran away. It had to be three times the size of Humphrey. Humphrey stumbled and fell over. He lay on the ground, staring at the sky. The moon looked as if it was shimmering. Humphrey finally let go and blacked out.

**Do me a favor and drop a review. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4: Water

**So I'd like to thank those of you kind enough to review…and to everyone who has read the story so far. But mostly the reviewers. Love you guys. Oh, if you didn't figure it out by now, Italics means thinking. As in, in your head.**

Kate awoke feeling no better than she fell asleep. Every emotion a being could handle was running through her. Which all led to one feeling, indecisiveness. Kate wasn't sure if it was better to let Humphrey leave, or to chase after him. She needed to talk to her father anyway. Kate slowly got up, careful not to wake Garth, and left for her parent's cave. A howl rang out through the chilled autumn air. Kate's ears perked up. It sounded a bit like Humphrey. The second howl fractured her hopes, however. Humphrey's howl was much more pure, more beautiful. She scampered along to Winston.

Kate climbed her way to the mouth of the den. She noticed that neither parent was awake. Lilly was awake, however, crying silently in the corner of the den. She saw Kate walk in and stuck her face in the dirt. Kate, not quite aware of what was wrong, walked over to Lilly to comfort her. Lilly made it clear that she did not want to talk to Kate, and quickly ran outside. Kate followed her. Lilly had ran already halfway down the hill, and quickly gaining ground on Kate. Thinking quickly, Kate slid down the slope of the hill and took off after her. Lilly made a hard right into the trees. Kate was going too fast and tripped when she tried to turn. Lilly was gone when she looked up, but she didn't care. There was no way she was losing another close one.

"Lilly!" Kate took off into the trees. She ran full speed until she reached a waterfall coming from the Cliffside. Lilly was sitting by the edge a pond created long ago by the weathering from the water. Kate sat down beside her.

"Kate, you don't know, do you?" Lilly sniffled. She skipped a rock by the pond.

"I don't know what?"

"While you were gone, I had to show Garth around. Well I didn't have to, I chose to. During that time we sort of, fell for each other. Then you came back, now you're married," she put her head into the dirt, trying not to cry. Kate wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this.

"_I was only gone for a week or two; it's a little bit ridiculous for her to have fallen head over heels in the amount of time, isn't it?" _Kate didn't say that aloud, however and chose a better approach. "Oh, Lilly I'm so sorry. I didn't want to marry him either, but you know."

"It's for the good of the pack," she spat sarcastically. "He could have married me, you know!"

"Lilly, you know as well as I do why that wouldn't work," Kate replied a little drier than she meant to.  
>"What were you doing anyway?" Lilly asked her attention as sporadic as ever.<p>

"Oh yea…" Kate began. "Humphrey left a few hours ago. I don— he's not coming back unless we make him."

"He's gone? Why?" Lilly laid down.

"I think he loved me. I really messed up on that one."

"Kate, this whole marriage, these laws on alphas and omegas, they've caused so much trouble for all of us. It sucks, but you can't blame yourself for these things. Sometimes things are just set in motion. I know he was your friend, and I know how much he liked you. We spent a little time together while you were at Alpha School, all he wanted to talk about was you, though," She rolled her eyes, "He'll come back. I know it."

"Thanks Lilly. I should probably go tell Dad about Humphrey," Kate stood up. A tear rolled down her cheek and hit the ground with a thud.

"Yea, see you Kate," Lilly stayed at the pond. The waterfall was so serene; it brought her a fuzzy feeling of peace.

Humphrey slowly opened his eyes.

_"It's so dark. I guess it is night. Isn't it? I think I see the sun, I can't tell though. Why is everything so black then?" _Humphrey rubbed his eyes. His vision was slowly coming back to him. He tried to stand up. As he got on his feet, his brain thundered inside his skull. His vision flickered in sync to the pounding in his head. He winced and lay back down. He looked up at the sky and saw it was almost noon. _"How long was I out?" _He thought. His throat was painfully dry. It must have been a while since he'd had a drink. He focused on one thing, the need for water. Surviving was all that mattered right now. He slowly, very carefully, got to his feet. He bobbed his head melodically, trying to waver off the pain in his head. He took a step, then another. Each time he hit the ground his bones felt like cracked glass. He winced at each thud as he began walking. He stopped when he realized he needed to find water. He thought he smelled water to the east, and began walking that way. The more he thought about himself, the more he realized his head wasn't all that was hurt. His leg felt weird, almost out of place. His back felt funny too. He could hear the stream now. It must have been close, since he could hear it over the bells sounding off in his ears. He saw it at the bottom of a semi-steep hill.

Humphrey took great care not to slip. He propped a leg against a tree stump for support, taking another step on a fallen log. He climbed down the hill, each step against the hard ground hurting more than the last. He was panting hard, trying to fight the pain. He could feel tears welling up behind his eyes. His eyes began to blur from them, and he misplaced his footing and tumbled head over heels down the hill.

"Damn!" He yelped out as he tumbled down the hill. Every bounce felt like a boulder fell atop of him. His vision began to blur again. He shook his head, trying to stay awake. Darkness was crowning the edges of his vision. He crawled toward the stream and tried to get a drink. He could hardly swallow, so he stuck his entire head into the stream. He felt as though the stream could carry him away. After managing to swallow a bit, it became easier to take the next gulp. He took bigger and bigger sips, until a passerby would have thought that he was trying to drink the whole stream. After he finally felt like he couldn't drink anymore, he sat up. His stomach dropped when he did. Humphrey leaned back over and threw up. His ribs ached while he heaved. He took note that he shouldn't drink so much next time.

"Well Humphrey, lookit what you've gotten yourself into now!" he laughed at himself wiping off his mouth. He chuckled until the pain in his abdomen cut it off. The pain led to coughing, which hurt even worse. He stood up again, not feeling much better. He thought he saw some shelter at the crest of the other side of the hill. He waded across the stream, and made a slow trek up the hill. He grabbed onto trees, roots, anything he could get a grip on. He smirked as he reached the top of the hill. He smiled when he noticed the cave. His feet clapped on the stone surface of the cave. It sounded foreign to Humphrey. He stumbled and tripped over his own feet. Humphrey felt a rib crack when he crashed on the ground. He tried looking outside, but darkness was crawling over his vision. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**Thanks for reading again! What do you think Humphrey's next move should be? I'll try updating as soon as I can, but finding time can be hard. As for now, I'm going to bed. **


	5. Chapter 5: The Hunt

**Hello! Story time!**

Humphrey slowly opened his eyes. The moon was glowing through the cave's mouth. He stretched out the best he could; it wasn't much, he was sore in places he didn't know existed. Humphrey felt his joints crack and chuckled as he stood up. His life was going to be a lot different from now on. First thing on the list for today was food. He had a different tactic for today. Finding something that wouldn't kill him was a good start for it. He took note of everything that seemed wrong. His leg still felt like it was broke, he couldn't run, his jaw locked tight from the impact with the tree, and he hurt everywhere else anyways. Humphrey limped out of the cave and took a big gulp of the night's air. The pine trees swayed in the breeze.

Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Dad! He could be hurt!" She cried. "What if he needs someone to come save him right now? He saved my life!"

"Kate, I'm sorry. You know we can't send an entire hunting party after one omega that chose to leave. I'm sorry if he was your friend, but he's gone. Hopefully he can survive on his own," Winston hated saying this to his daughter, but rules were rules. He needed to keep order more now than ever; controlling two packs at once is not an easy task. Not even with two leaders.

"Fine! If you won't help, I'll find him myself!" Kate stormed off. Winston followed her.

"Kate, don't do this. This isn't necessary. There's a good chance he'll be back!"

Humphrey was walking in a patch of cattails by a lake near his new homestead. He decided he wanted something a little tamer than whatever that giant caribou was that crippled him. He needed practice though, if he was ever going to catch something. Therefore, he was stalking imaginary pray; for the moment, it would be good enough. He got down so his body would barely be off the ground. He tried taking a few quiet steps. Humphrey stepped on a twig and swore at himself. That would have been it if he was following something. He spent the entire night, and the following day, practicing methods he thought might work for hunting. His leg was still in rough shape, however, and it made things complicated for him occasionally.

After spending the next few days sneaking around, his leg was starting to heal. _"Must have just been a sprain,"_ Humphrey thought, as he paced in his new home, trying to think of a way

Humphrey was resting atop the crest of a hill overlooking a plateau to the south. A small herd of deer was grazing below Humphrey, and he was intent on getting at least one of them tonight. He saw a patch of grass tall enough to hide in that led down most of the hill. After that, there seemed to be a few rocks he could curl up behind to get into the tree line behind them. After he was in the tree line, he could try to sneak up behind them in the grass. As long as he was quiet enough to get a hold on one, he should be all right. The wind was blowing in the perfect direction; they'll never see this coming.

Humphrey shrunk down into the grass and belly crawled toward a better vantage point. He made it about halfway when a jolt of pain shot through his leg. He stifled a yelp and laid down in the grass until he could move again.

"_That was too close,"_ he felt a wave of worry wash away; the deer didn't notice him yet. He crawled prone to the rock and sat behind it, stretching out his sore leg. He peeked over the rock. His prey had laid down. His luck was turning on his side. He smiled as he snuck around behind them. The grass where he hid was cut down into a short grass about twenty paces or so from the deer. After reaching the edge of the grass, Humphrey burst through the grass towards them. The doe closest to him let out a panicked grunt and try to get away from him. She was too slow. Humphrey got his teeth around its throat as it took off. Humphrey lost his grip on it and felt him tear through her throat. She tried to run away, but the doe had lost too much blood. The deer collapsed mid-stride, hitting her head on the ground with a thud. Humphrey felt excited. He had never done anything like that before. When he looked at the doe, however, his stomach dropped.

It was lying in the dirt, choking on its own blood in front of him. It cried out for help, but couldn't find the voice. It made Humphrey a little sick thinking about what he had done. It didn't matter though; he needed the food. He had time to feel guilty later. Grabbing the doe by the head with his teeth, he started dragging it back towards his den. His leg felt like it was about to burst halfway up the hill he ran down to get to her. When he finally reached home, Humphrey fell down to the stone and didn't move for a while. He thought his back way going to explode from his skin.

"Never…..again!" Humphrey panted, leaning against the side of his cave. His stomach growled, and he decided it was time to eat. He cut out the choice meats, something he never was allowed as an omega, and happily enjoyed the food.

Kate sprinted as fast as she could. She had tears running sideways along her face. She closed her eyes tight to get a better sight of things, and then snapped her head forward towards the forest. She would find Humphrey if it was the last thing she did. Kate ran back to the grove where Humphrey took off. She figured her best bet of finding him would be there. It hadn't rained yet, so there was a good chance of his scent still being around. She found the path that led to the grove. Her ears perked up; she heard steps behind her.  
>"Kate, where are you going?" It was Garth. He looked moderately hurt, and a little confused. "You aren't going after him, are you?"<p>

"No no! I'm just uh…going on a walk! Yea…a walk!" Kate looked at the grove as she walked by it. Garth trotted up beside her.

"Mind if I tag along then?" he smiled at her. She gave a sheepish half-smile back.

"Yea, sure. So uhh…what's new with you?" Kate said. She didn't know what to say to him really, making conversation felt awkward.

"Well, the two of us have a lot more duties now. We're going to be announced the pack leaders fairly soon. After that, we need to work on public relations between the two of us, and work on discrimination between the packs; after all, not everyone is getting along right now. Oh and—,"

"Public relations?" Kate interrupted with confusion all over her face.

"Yea, you know, make sure everyone knows we aren't secretly planning to smother the other in their sleep. Some public affection wouldn't hurt. We're probably going to need to have pups—"

"Pups!" Kate exasperated, "It's a little early for that don't you think!"

"Well I mean, if that's what you think then…" Garth looked a little let down by this.

"Garth, we don't even know each other. Maybe we should work on this first," Kate cooled off a little bit.

"Yea, okay. So Kate, what do you want right now?" Garth smiled at her.

"Aside from wishing Humphrey would to come back? A day off," she smiled at that.

"Yea, me too. Maybe soon enough we'll have one of those. We can go somewhere nice for a while. You look pretty today, by the way," Garth took a step in front of her. Kate giggled at that.

"_Maybe he's not so bad, but Humphrey is still out there. He's been gone for several days now…" _Kate stopped for a second. Garth looked quizzically at her.

"Hey I got to go, I'll see you at home Kate," And with that, Garth left to attend to matters only God knew. Kate laughed and turned back for the grove. When she walked inside, she noticed a trail Humphrey left when he stormed off.

"I mean, it can't hurt to try and follow him, can it?" Kate asked herself. She stepped into the thick grass and followed the tracks Humphrey left for her.

**Okay, I'm done now. Thanks for reading guys! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Thanks if you reviewed, I'll get the next chapter up soon as I can.**


	6. Chapter 6: But He can't!

**Anyone miss me? My computer kinda broke but I'm back now so umm...yea. Enjoy the chapter.**

Humphrey woke to the sound of birds chirping. A stream of sunlight lit up the mouth of the cave like a candle. The deer he caught yesterday still had a little meat left on the bone. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't hardly stand up. His back ached as if rocks struck between his bones. He hunched over and limped over for his breakfast. It didn't taste as fresh, but food was food. Afterward, Humphrey lay down outside the cave. Two birds landed practically on his nose and squawked at each other. They made their wings puff out and tried to scare each other off. Humphrey raised an eyebrow at the two and chuckled to himself. The flares of pain shot through his ribs again. He snapped at them and they flew away.

"I am going to frickin' die out here," he groaned. "There is no way in hell I'm going back. Not ever alive, anyway. This is probably for the best." He crawled down the steep hill back to the stream. While he was still in the brush, he saw the giant caribou-like webbed antler monstrosity that beat him to a different day. He watched as it limped away from the stream. Humphrey had obviously split his leg in two, but it still towered over him. When he felt safe, Humphrey crawled out of the brush. A gray blur flashed in Humphrey's peripheral. His ears perked up. Humphrey scanned around the area, but didn't see anything.

"Must be my imagination," he muttered. He turned his head just in time to see it crash into him. Humphrey yelped out in pain and started coughing. His tongue tasted metallic. A ten ton hammer just knocked Humphrey's entire body into a bundle of mush. Humphrey gasped for breath, but couldn't grab enough air. His lungs scorched. He couldn't inhale anything. His vision was blurring, but he could make out a gray colored animal looking over him.

"Oh hell. Guys over here!" Humphrey heard him like he was underwater, then felt tired. He closed his eyes and passed out.

"HUMPREY?!" Kate called to the trees. No answer. Rain splattered on the ground. It felt like a year had gone by since she lost his trail. She searched high and low when the trail cut off, but the rain washed away his scent. Kate hurled a rock into a nearby tree. The bark splintered and shards flew at her face. "Damn it!" Kate hollered at anything that was listening. She noticed something behind the tree. It looked like somebody else had done what she had with something much bigger. A tree stood with the bark split off and scattered about. She noticed something else, there was a little bit of blood left on the ground. Her heart pounded in her ears, the rain's splattered slower. Kate felt like time had slowed down and she stepped toward the blood. It was more than a little, and it was certainly Humphrey's. Somehow she knew it before she got to it. The rain hadn't washed it all away yet since the trees were covering the area. The blood trailed toward a stream in the distance. Kate ran to the stream. More blood. A lot of it. She began to panic. A steep hill on the bank of the stream had roots pulled everywhere. Kate imagined Humphrey's mangled corpse crawling up it. She sprinted up the hill and found a cave where a deer's carcass lay.

"That doesn't make sense, Humphrey can't hunt,"

**Well it's about time I get something posted. Sorry about that. Leave a review tell me what you think. What's gonna happen to Humphrey? Find out next time.**

–**Deisy**


	7. Chapter 7: Where am I?

**I like leaving these little author notes. Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story. Sorry about the wait again, I know at least three people wanted me to go on. Thanks again for enjoying my story! Love you all.**

"Ohh mmm," Humphrey groaned. He wiped away at his eyes, in a futile attempt to clear his vision. He closed his eyes and sighed. His eyes exploded open. "Wh-wai-where am I?" he mumbled. He looked around; he was not where he was before. Humphrey tried to get up to explore but couldn't find the strength. He clawed at the ground to no avail. He was in a cave, the ground was a soft dirt. It was comfortable. Overhanging him were several small stalactites hanging down from a black roof. The mouth of the cave was nearby, he could see blue skies hiding behind several large pine trees.

_Where was I before? I was...at the river. And then that animal speared me...oh hell I'm a slave now aren't I? This is just grea-_ Humphrey perked up his ears at the sound of footsteps getting closer to him. He tried to crawl behind a stalagmite. A gray furred wolf approached him.

"Well, looks like you still are alive," the voice was hoarse, but also energetic. Humphrey tried to stand up and step away from him. "I wouldn't!" the wolf tried to warn him; Humphrey cut him off with a groan and a cry of pain.

"That hurt," Humphrey clutched at his side. He felt ribs that were broken and out of place.

"Yea I may have mistaken you for a small animal, that's uh...that's my bad," The wolf chuckled. The wolf stood a foot over Humphrey. He looked stronger than a bear, making him quite intimidating to poor little Humphrey. "Don't worry, We'll have you patched up and sent home good as new! We've got plenty of omega women around that are known for their healing capabilities.

"Yea, okay...home," Humphrey chuckled. He internally let out a giant sigh of relief.

"What were you doing out there by yourself anyway? Its a common rule that no wolf should go it alone." the gray wolf stepped towards him, expressing concern. A scar across his left eye became more visible as he got closer.

"It's complicated. I just needed to get away from my pack," Humphrey shook his head. Humphrey's solemn expression made it clear he didn't want to talk about it. The gray wolf's expression showed he was racking his brain trying to figure it out. He smiled at him.

"You idiot. It was a girl wasn't it?" He laughed at Humphrey's look of disbelief. "Oh, what's you're name boy?" he shook his head softly at him.

"Humphrey," he muttered, offended by the gray wolf.

"Oh, I didn't mean to harm ya, it's just that we've all been there. Not all of us have left, but I think I know what you're going through. Now you just lie down and rest, somebody will come and bring you food in a bit."

Kate was sat down in defeat. Humphrey was gone. She had been desperately searching for three days now, with hardly any results. The odds were that Humphrey was dead by now. Giving up, however, was not a part of Kate's alpha stature. She had followed his trail out of the cave. It led her back down the hill to the stream, where signs of a struggle were present. She felt tears behind her eyes. She put her head into her front paws, lying down. Her ears perked up; she smelled something.

"Humphrey!" She sniffled. Kate jumped up to follow his scent. It was strong, almost too strong. It was like he was dragged on the ground. "Don't worry Humphrey, whoever is holding you hostage, we can take 'em," Kate pounced after her friend.

"Woah..." Humphrey trailed off, surprised at what he saw. He had been stuck by himself for what he was sure was at least a day. Everything ached. After a while he made up his mind that he'd starve to death, and he'd be okay with it. Now, a brown wolf a little smaller than Humphrey elegantly strode into the room carrying a leg of deer with her. Humphrey smiled at her; he could feel his cheeks burning. Her snout was slender, along with the rest of her body, Humphrey noted. She had green, almost fluorescent eyes.

_Wow _He thought.

"Um...hi," She dropped the food and looked at a starstruck Humphrey. Smiling, she giggled and nudged it towards him. He was too busy staring at her to notice it. "This is for you dummy," She turned around to walk out of the room. Humphrey was still gaping at her while she walked away.

"He _is _cute," she whispered, looking over her shoulder at him. Humphrey looked shocked, almost jumping out of his skin. He started gnawing on his food to distract her. She turned and left.

_Wow, that was awkward. I'm really not good with these kind of things, am I?_ Humphrey gnawed the leg he was given down to the bone, then he gnawed away at that for a bit. After he sated his hunger, he turned over and tried to fall asleep again. The meat had something in it, Humphrey noted. Humphrey frowned and stuck his tongue out. It was slightly green. Humphrey pawed at it, but the taste wasn't leaving anytime soon. His back and his side felt soothed, however. He sighed in relief and fell asleep.

Humphrey woke up to a nose poking him in the side. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt as much. He opened his eyes to see the brown wolf staring at him, eagerly smiling.

"Um, hi," Humphrey was semi-asleep, his speech slightly slurred..

"Hi," She beamed at him. "Feeling better I hope?"

"Uh yea actually. What did you put in that meat anyways?"

"This," She pointed toward a green ball in front of him. "Eat this,"

"I'm not really that kind of wolf..." Humphrey trailed off. She grabbed the leaf ball and shoved it in his mouth. Humphrey chewed at the tough plants.

"If you're good, maybe I'll be good to you later," she winked at him. Humphrey's eyes shot open in surprise, he stopped chewing and coughed a few times. She giggled and turned heel, with a royal gate she strode out of the room. Humphrey swallowed the plant mixture and took a big gulp of air.

"Oh god that tasted awful!" Humphrey frantically licked the dirt; anything would taste better than that.

**Sooo what's happening now? Humphrey has made some new friends, Kate's on her way to "save" Humphrey. What could possibly go wrong?**


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